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Spoolmate 100 tip problems?

I got spoolmate 100 on a 211. No problems with the 211 but the spoolmate is a different story! After a short while of welding aluminum the wire burns to the tip. Usually on start or restart. I am using 4043 .030 wire. Tried a .035 tip, reduced weld time, and changed voltage and wire speed. Clipped the ball on the wire on every start or restart. Wire brushed the work with a stainless steel wire brush everytime. These tips are like 9 bucks for five around here and when you go through 1 or 2 tips a job it gets expensive. I tried different distances of stickout changed the argon flow. Around 20 cfh is what I have been running the flow. It dont matter what thickness of material I am welding it still does it. Any ideas? I read somewhere on the forum that another member made a adapter and is using different tips on his spoolmate 100? I am at a loss on this one!

Cruizer,
Miller part# 186406 is the tips I have been using. Those are .035 tips. #186419 is the .030 tips. It burns off right end of the tip and welds itself to the inside. Its alot worse if you use .030 tip with .030 wire!

to help out on lossing so many tips get a tip drill it comes with about 10 sizes of drill bits inside the handle . they are great for cleaning out cutting tips and work pretty good on aluminum spool gun tips too.my spool mate gun burns back sometimes and i just drill out the tip and get back at it again. if you can't find the tip drill at the welding store you can use a dremel drill bit .they come in some small sizes too but you have to use manual labor to drill it and not the dremel tool because that thing will spin that bit fast.use a tap and die holder to put the bit into and drill it out.

The whole problem is the tip. The nose of it is too small for the heat. I have a conversion to change them to the regular Miller mig tip and the problem is solved. I can run .035 alum all day thru a standard .030 mig tip with zero issues. I can fix your nozzle to fit the bigger tips...Bobhttp://www.millerwelds.com/resources...php?albumid=48

I thought Miller was made here in the states?

Chinese spoolguns eh! So, Bob, you used your existing nozzle and cut it down and drilled and tapped it? I agree with you on the tip being the problem! It doesnt matter if its a 2 inch weld or a 4 inch weld after awhile you better be looking at the tip. I did notice that the very end of the tip turns dark color like oxidized copper color to almost black. It just dawned on me that the heating and cooling cycle of the tip is shrinking the hole that the wire goes through.

I use the FAT tips from Profax....They are like 5/16 diameter...They are too short for the miller gun but if you make an adaptor extension they work well and have enough bulk so they don't overheat and sieze up.Good luck...